The Naval Research Laboratory
(NRL) successfully negotiated a Project Arrangement (PA) between
the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Canadian Department
of National Defence (DND) which was signed by the Honorable H.
Lee Buchanan, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development
and Acquisition, at a ceremony on March 31. Also in attendance
at the signing ceremony were: Ms. Sherri Goodman, Deputy Undersecretary
of Defense for Environmental Security (DUSD-ES); Rear Admiral
F.W. Gibson, Commander, Canadian Defence Liaison Staff, Washington;
Mr. Michael Slack, Senior Policy Analyst for DND and the Canadian
Technical Project Officer; and Mr. Bruce Sartwell, NRL Surface
Chemistry Branch, who is the U.S. Technical Project Officer.

The objective of the project is to qualify high-velocity, oxygen-fuel
(HVOF) thermal spray coatings as a viable replacement for hard
chrome plating on military aircraft components, principally landing
gear. "At the completion of this program, it is expected
that HVOF thermal spray coatings will be in production in many
manufacturing and maintenance activities in both the U.S. and
Canada, resulting in both a cleaner environment and the savings
of millions of dollars in maintenance costs," comments Mr.
Sartwell. Hard chrome plating is a process that is extensively
used by aircraft manufacturers and military aircraft maintenance
depots to provide wear and/or corrosion resistance to components,
or to restore dimensional tolerance to components. Within DoD,
the total value of the hard-chrome plating operations exceeds
$100 million annually. Hard chrome is applied to aircraft components
including landing gear, hydraulic actuators, propeller hubs,
helicopter rotor heads and gas turbine engines. However, chrome
plating utilizes hexavalent chromium, which is a highly toxic
carcinogen, and increasingly stringent environmental and worker-safety
regulations are making chrome plating more expensive for manufacturers
and DoD.

HVOF thermal spraying is a process
that is capable of depositing metal alloy, ceramic/metal composite
and polymer coatings rapidly and to thicknesses comparable to
those of chrome plating. In 1996, the DUSD-ES Environmental Security
Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) awarded a project to
demonstrate and validate HVOF coatings as a viable replacement
for hard chrome on aircraft components. As a result, the Hard
Chrome Alternatives Team (HCAT) was created. It is a tri-service/industry
group tasked with execution of the project which includes extensive
material testing (fatigue, corrosion, wear), full-scale component
testing, cost analyses and development of standards and specifications.
Mr. Sartwell is the overall coordinator of HCAT activities, including
financial manager. Funding support is provided not only by ESTCP,
but by the Air Force, Navy, and DARPA with a total commitment
of $6 million over a five-year period. A considerable portion
of the material testing is being conducted by Dr. Paul Natishan
in NRL's Environmental Effects Branch and Dr. Irwin Singer in
NRL's Surface Chemistry Branch.

Initial material testing has
indicated that the properties of HVOF tungsten carbide/cobalt
coatings are superior to hard chrome. According to Mr. Sartwell,
"This holds the promise that increased performance of HVOF-coated
components will ultimately lead to reduced maintenance, lowering
the total-cost-of-ownership to DoD for its aircraft. This is
an example where environmental regulations are forcing DoD to
adopt a superior technology." The initial favorable results
of the HCAT program have led to a decision that the Joint Strike
Fighter will be chrome-free and will use HVOF coatings as an
alternative. But the applications of HVOF coatings are not limited
to just replacement of hard chrome. In a related effort, the
Office of Naval Research has established an Integrated Product
Team to explore applications of nanoscale HVOF coatings to the
CVX, the Navy's aircraft carrier for the 21st century.

The Canadian DND and Department
of Industry Canada (roughly equivalent to the U.S. Department
of Commerce) became interested in the HCAT program in late 1997
because of the considerable number of military aircraft in DND
and because Canadian companies manufacture more than 2/3 of the
landing gear used on military and commercial aircraft in North
America. In a desire to reduce maintenance costs on their aircraft
and to ensure that the Canadian companies remain competitive
in the landing gear market, the Canadian government organizations
approached the HCAT about executing a formal PA under the auspices
of the Technology Research and Development Program Memorandum
of Understanding between the U.S. and Canada. Working with the
Navy International Programs Office, Mr. Sartwell successfully
negotiated the PA whereby the Canadian Government will invest
$6 million, matching the U.S. contribution, to conduct complementary
material and component testing and share all data and information
between the two countries. Mr. Slack indicated that this is the
largest environmental-related PA that has been executed between
the two countries.

Following the planned extensive
testing in the program, results will be presented to appropriate
stakeholders, including weapons systems program managers, system
command engineers and single item managers, for "buy-in"
to the technology. Production HVOF coating systems are being
established at many DoD aircraft depots, and personnel have been
trained in their operation. Standards and specifications have
been drafted and presented to the organization responsible for
issuing aerospace materials standards which are replacing the
old military specifications. The standards and specifications
being developed by the HCAT are expected to be used by the commercial
aircraft industry as well.

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of approximately 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 90 years and continues to meet the complex technological challenges of today's world. For more information, visit the NRL homepage or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Comment policy: We hope to receive submissions from all viewpoints, but we ask that all participants agree to the Department of Defense Social Media User Agreement. All comments are reviewed before being posted.